quilt

[kwilt]

noun

1. a coverlet for a bed, made of two layers of fabric with some soft substance, as wool or down, between them and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses in order to prevent the filling from shifting.

2. anything quilted or resembling a quilt.

3. a bedspread or counterpane, especially a thick one.

4. Obsolete.,  a mattress.

verb (used with object)

1. to stitch together (two pieces of cloth and a soft interlining), usually in an ornamental pattern.

2. to sew up between pieces of material.

3. to pad or line with material.

verb (used without object)

1. to make quilts or quilted work.

quilt

/ kwɪlt /

noun

1. a thick warm cover for a bed, consisting of a soft filling sewn between two layers of material, usually with crisscross seams

2. a bedspread or counterpane

3. anything quilted or resembling a quilt

verb

1. to stitch together (two pieces of fabric) with (a thick padding or lining) between them

   to quilt cotton and wool

2. to create (a garment, covering, etc) in this way

3. to pad with material

4. informal,  to strike; clout

Other Word Forms

• quilter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of quilt¹

1250–1300; Middle English quilte < Old French cuilte < Latin culcita mattress, cushion

Word History and Origins

Origin of quilt¹

C13: from Old French coilte mattress, from Latin culcita stuffed item of bedding

Example Sentences

After the divorce, she lived in an apartment above a quilting shop in Nyack and sometimes rented rooms to actors visiting that town for performances.

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When she ran out of ferns that were real, she invented fictional ferns: the quilted fern, which died down each winter into a soft and cozy clump.

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But instead of stone, she found herself lying on a thick, soft quilt.

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A quilted tablecloth memorialized the address numbers of all the homes on the street.

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The water was followed by a trip to the kitchen, where, wrapped in the quilt, I slumped into a chair while she hastily prepared a bowl of vegetable soup.

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Related Words

• bedspread 
• blanket 
• comforter